Trio of fires brings warning on Island

Sep 29 2012

Three human-caused fires in the last week, including one near Horne Lake in the Parksville area, have provincial officials repeating a call to take care in the outdoors.

The Horne Lake blaze, which was reported Thursday morning, was completely contained by late Friday afternoon and crews were in the mop-up stage. Fires reported earlier in the week near Duncan and Shawnigan Lake were also started by people.

Fire information officer Donna MacPherson the public should be aware of the conditions. At present, 60 per cent of the province has a high or extreme fire rating - unusual for this time of year.

"The big message is that it's a lot drier than people think," MacPherson said. "It's going to take a significant amount of rain to turn things around for us."